Mahousen Izumi

Chapter 7: A New Normalcy

Izumi awoke to muffled shouting. She looked to the wall clock with labored movement and then buried her head back into the blanket. The men in the black suits had been in with her aunt and her father for about four hours now, she noted with tired apathy. Her nose stung with the smell of antiseptic. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep on the hospital bench. Her efforts were foiled when the door flew open and Hiroto stormed out into the hall, taking great care to slam it behind him.

"Idiots. Grubbing, bottom feeding, foresightless idiots." He dropped down next to her and pulled his long legs up to his chin. "How can they be so thoughtless?"

Izumi did not look up or respond. She just pulled the blanket tighter across her shoulders. He went on for a while, complaining about how these society agents wanted to take her to facility of some kind. So what? It wasn't like she deserved any less.

"Have you been sitting here all day?" he asked, the anger slipping from his face.

"Mm."

"Stop blaming yourself." He tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she tore away at once.

"Why?" Her tone was fierce.

"I guess that was a stupid thing to say."

"You think so?" Izumi felt the power stirring again, a maelstrom of hate with those wicked blue eyes staring up from the depths. She recoiled from it at once, forcing herself into a state of semi-calm.

"How is she?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice neutral.

"She's fi—," he stopped short when she pierced him with eyes that blinked back fearful tears.

"No secrets. Please."

Hiroto sighed, his reluctance clear. "The wound was really deep. She'll survive, but even with a top notch regenerator it'll be months before she's on her feet."

"Regenerate?"

"Organs," he nodded, "Bones too."

Izumi held back a gasp with her hands, her stomach twisting in horror. Just what had she done? She could barely remember anything of the attack but the fear and the rage, blurring her vision like a veil. She did not remember much after that either, just bits and pieces of lucidity during the drive over and at the hospital.

"But it'll be alright. She's in good hands, everything's going to be—"

"How can you say that?" She tore herself from his comforting arm again, jumping up with unsteady legs. "I attacked my own mother, tried to kill her. My whole world's dead and gone. How can you even think that things are going to be alright?"

She felt guilty at once, watching as Hiroto's face fell. Izumi took a deep breath, blowing the anger out through her nose. It was not fair to be angry at him for this. She was just mad at herself.

"Suzumiya and Takahashi were here earlier," he said. Izumi blinked in surprise.

"Why didn't they wake me?"

"We tried, but you were pretty out of it. Don't worry," he said when her expression clouded. "They don't know anything yet. I told them that Nozomi-oba was shot by a burglar."

So they were already keeping secrets from her friends, the beginning of her new life of conspiracy and secrets. It felt like a door closing. Even so…

"Thank you."

"It wasn't anything, really. It's what's going to be on the news anyway; assuming they can squeeze it in with all of this terrorism stuff. They were here for quite a while; I don't think I remember ever seeing Suzumiya cry before."